The Rugby Northeast (RNE) conference will remain a hybrid competition for the upcoming school year. Division II teams will align with the reconstituted American Collegiate Rugby Association (ACRA), and members that meet the enrollment requirements will have the option to compete in National Collegiate Rugby’s Small School division.
“For Rugby Northeast, offering flexibility and support to our teams across New England is paramount for the 2020-2021 season given the uncertainties we face at this time and the anticipated impact of COVID-19,” Rugby Northeast commissioner Devin DiGiovanni explained.
“The conference will align a majority of our 15 women’s teams with ACRA for more support and strong regional competition, as well as provide another handful of teams with national pathways and opportunities through National Collegiate Rugby,” DiGiovanni continued. “We believe this approach will allow us to serve the varied needs of our 15 members best at this time and we are looking forward to working with both organizations in the coming year.”
Rugby Northeast oversees teams in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont (see below).
“We will be finalizing teams and divisions as soon as we learn more from some of our member teams about their 20-21 seasons pending more clarity around the impacts of COVID-19,” DiGiovanni added.
The league will also shift its focus entirely to the women’s game going forward.”This will be Rugby Northeast’s first year as a conference with only women’s rugby teams so I am excited for the opportunity for RNE to reset and reconsider what we offer to our membership and to focus on how we can support the women’s collegiate game,” the commissioner closed.
Stay tuned for more updates and refer to this spreadsheet for leagues’ organizational alignments.
RUGBY NORTHEAST TEAMS
Bentley Univ — MA
Bryant Univ — RI
Colby College — ME
Franklin Pierce Univ — RI
Keene State — NH
Johnson State College — VT
Merrimack College — MA
Middlebury College — VT
Providence College — RI
Roger Williams Univ — RI
Saint Anselm College — NH
Southern Connecticut State Univ — CT
St. Michael’s College — VT
Stonehill College — MA
UMass Lowell — MA